Invalid-table support.



E. C. SNEED.

INVALID TABLE SUPPORT.

APPLIOATION FILED 11111114, 1912.

Patented Nov. 5, 1912.

2 BHBETS-SHEET 1.

amuewtoz E; 0. SNEED.

INVALID TABLE SUPPORT.

APPLICATION TILED JUNE4, 1912.

1,043,638. Patented Nov. 5, 1 12.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

29 awe/whom EUGENE Q. SNEED, OFBICHMONZD, VIRGINIA.

INVALID-TABLE surronr.

Specification of Letters Patent.

IR-atented Nov. 5, 1912.

Application filed June 1912. Serial No. 701,601.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, EUGENE C. SNEED, a citizen of the United States, residing at Richmond, in the county of Henrico and 5 State of Virginia, have invented new and useful Improvements in Invalid-Table Supports, of which the following is a specification.

in object of the invention is to provide a table supportfor supporting a table in convenient positions for ln-valids.

The invention embodies, among other features, a device that is preferably used in connection with a bed or invalid chair, the device consisting primarily of a series of connected sections, relatively adjustable to support a table in convenient position for an invalid.

A still further embodiment of the invention resides in a structure thatcan be quickly and positively secured in an adjusted posi-' tion and which can also be quickly removed to an inoperative position so as not to interfere with or in any manner inconvenience the invalid when it is not desired to use the table.

In the further disclosure of the invention reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings constituting apart of thisspecificat-ion, in which similar characters'of reference designate corresponding partsin all the views, and in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation-of my device showing the same used in connection with a bed; F 1g. 2 is a plan view of the device, the dotted lines denoting the inoperative position of the device, beneath the bed; Fig. 3 is a side elevation, the devicei being shown in inoperative position beneathv the bed; Fig. 4 is an enlarged transverse"sectional yiew taken on the line 4-4 in Fig. 2; Fig. 5- is a horizontal sectional View of the ball and socket member, the said view'being taken on the line 5-5 in Fig. 1; Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional View taken on the line 66 in Fig. 5 and showing the locking means for the ball and socket member; Fig. 7 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 7-7 in Fig. 1; Fig. 8 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 88 in Fig. 2; Fig. 9 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 9-9 in Fig. 2; and Fig. 10 is an' enlarged side elevation of one of the locking members of the main frame. Referring more particularly to the views,

W I employ a series of sections 10, 11, 12, 13

and 14, the sections being so arranged that each section has pivotal connection with the next adjacent section to form an adjustable supporting arm 15, the first section 10 being mounted to swing horizontally on a supporting frame 16, mounted to slide on a horizontally arranged track 17 secured to brackets 18 having rigid 'connection with the frame 19 of a bed 20, the mentioned brackets being mounted to depend beneath the frame 19 and having secured to the upper ends thereof a horizontally extending guard plate 21, the said guard plate being arranged immediately above the track 17 to prevent the bed clothes or mattress of the bed 20 from conflicting with, the track to destroy the proper operation of the supporting frame over the track, pins 22 being mounted to extend laterally from the sidefaces of the track 17 and adapted to be engaged by the supporting frame 16 to limit the sliding movement of the supporting frame on the mentioned track, a plurality of screws 23 being mounted to extend transversely through the supporting frame 16 to engage faces of the track 17 and retain the supporting frame rigid relatively to the track when the mentioned screws are tightened up on the supporting frame.

As mentioned heretofore, the section 10 is mounted to swing horizontally on the supporting frame 16 and the second section 11 is mounted to swing vertically on the section 10, an eye 24 being secured to the upper side of the section 11 and adapted to receive therethrough a wire-like guide member 25, having the ends thereof mounted in a bearing 26 on the supporting frame 16, suitable screws 27 being mounted to extend through the bearing 26 and engage the guide member 25 forthe purpose of adjusting the guide member relatively to the section 11, the forward portion of the guide member being bent downwardly as shown, in order to guide the supporting arm 15 beneath the frame 19 11, will swing theentire supporting arm 15 downwardly so that the same can conveniently pass beneath the frame 19 of the bed 20, an expansible helical spring 28 -be1ng' ma d fi a ed fr m t West f ing members being adapted to extend into a beveled opening 30, formed in the section 11 and extending transversely thereto, the said securing members, when'extending into the opening of the said" section, being adapted to rigidly support the section 11 on one or the other sides of the frame of the bed 20, the inner extremity of the securing member 29 being beveled to more securely hold the section 11 in supporting position, a notch 31 being formed in the securing member 29 to receive a head 32 of alocking dog 33, the head being mounted to swing on an arm 34 having pivotal connection with an exteriorly extending knob 35,-'

a pin 36 being provided to mount the arm 34 on the section 11, the pin connecting the arm 34 with the knob being. adapted to pivotally connect the knob to a block 37 mounted to slide in an opening. in the section 11 and having the under side thereof.

engaged by an expansible helical spring 38, a suitable plate 39 being mounted on the upperside of the section 11 to limit the upward movement of the block 37, the expansibility of the spring 38 being adapted to normally reta-in'the head 32 in locking position so that when the section 11'is swung to receive one of the securing members '29 -in the opening 30, a downward pressure exerted on the knob 35 will move the head 32 upwardly in the section 11 to permit of entirely receiving the free end of the securing member in the opening 30, after which the pressure on the knob 35 is released to permit the head 32 to spring into the notch 31 of the securing member, thus securely locking and supporting the section 11 on the securing member, as will be readily seen by referring to the views.

" The section 12 is mounted to swing horizontally on the forward end of the section 11, the mentioned section being of an S- shaped construction so that the next section 13 can be mounted to swing horizontally on the forward end of the section 12, the next section 14'being mounted to swing vertically on the forward end of the section 13, the mentioned section 14 terminating in a casing 40consisting of a rigid portion 41 and a movable portion 42, mounted to swing on the rigid portion 41 at 43, the rigid porable portion 42, a screw 46 being mounted to swing on the ear 45 of the movable portion 42 and extending through an opening collar 49 of a thumb nut 50, the mentioned thumb nut having threaded connection with the screw 46, an operating lever 51 being mounted to swing on bearings 52 mounted on one of the projections of the thumb nut 50, the said operating lever 51 being provided with a toothed member 53, rotatable with the handle to engage the teeth of the rack bar 48 and move the rack bar into "or out of engagement with the plate 47 an expansible spring 54 being mounted to en circle in the rack bar 48 with one end of the spring seating against a portion of the collar 49 and the other end of the spring abutting against -a transversely extending pin vent a reverse movementof the thumb nut without first operating the lever 51 to move the rack bar 48 out of engagement with the notched plate 47,-the operation of tightening the thumb nut 50 on-the screw 46 being adapted to move the ear 45 of the movable portion 42 toward and into engagement with the ear 44 of the rigid portion 41 to secure a ball 56, formed at the lower end of a shank 57, in rigid position between the rigid and movable portions 41, 42 of the casing 40, the upper end of the shank 57 terminating in a plate 58 having rigid connection with the under side of a table 59, it being understood that the ball 56 and casing 40 constitute a ball and socket joint, whereby,'through the me-- dium of the thumb nut 50, the table 59 can be adjusted to any convenient angle and I held in locked or rigid position by the rack bar48 engaging the notched plate 47 in the manner described heretofore.

The means for pivotally connecting the section13 with the section 14 consist of a" pin 60 arranged to pass through ears 61 formed on the section 13, an car 62 being formed on the section 14 toextend between the ears 61 of the section 13, with apertures in the ears 61 and 62 adapted to register to portion of the shank to form a locking meansfor the nut 64, the mentioned nut being preferably provided with a plurality of indentations 66 adapted to receive a suitable wrench therein for adjusting the nut 64 on the shank of thepin after the cap 65 has been removed from the shank. In a similar manner, a similar pin 67 is employed to pivotally. connect the section 11 to the section 10 and similar pins 68, 69 are employed to formthe connections between the sections 11, 12 and 12 and 13, respectively.

The section 13 is adapted to be heldin lowered and rigid connection with the section 12 by means of a spring-actuated looking member 70, consisting ofa shank 71"and a handle 7 2, the handle being preferably eX- tended at right angles to the shank 71 with the mentioned locking member 70 mounted to slide 011 the section 12 and engaged by an expansible spring 73 to normally retain the free end of the shank 71 in one of a series of indentations 74, formed in an ear of the section 13, the handle 7 2-being arranged exter'iorly of the section 12. so that when it is desired to swing the section 13 on the section 12, a pull is exerted on the handle to move the free end of the shank 71 out of one of the indentations 74 in which the pin normally resides, thus permittingthe section 13 to be swung on the section 12 to the desired angle or position, after which the handle 72 is released, thus causing the free end of the shank 71, by the action of the spring 73, to again move into one of the indentations 74 and lock the section 13 to the section 12. A similar locking member 76 is mounted on the lower end of the section 12 with the shank 77 thereof extending into one of a series of indentations 78 formed in an ear 79 of the section 11, thus providing a means for r'igidly locking the section 12 to the section 11. To look the section, 14 relatively to the section 13, a locking member 80 is mounted to swing on the section 13, the said locking member consisting of a shank 81 provided with a handle 82 engaged by an ex'pansible spring 83, mounted on the section 13 with the free end of the shank 81 provided with a pin 84 which, by the action of the spring 83, will normally extend into one of a series of indentations 85 formed in the ear 62 of the section 14, thus locking the sect-ion '13 relatively to the section 14, it being understood that when a pressure is exerted on the handle 82 to compress the spring 83, the 'pin 84 will be moved out of the indentation 85, thus permitting the operator to swing the section 13 on the section 14.

It will now be seen that by providing the supporting arm 15, consisting of the connected sections 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14, with the table 59 adjustably mounted on the outermost section 14, the device described can be swung into any convenient position on gthe frame19 of the bed 20, the table 59 being adjustable to any desired angle orvheight within the scope or reach ofthe relatively -movable sections 10, 11, 1-3, 12 and 14, it be-' ing further seen that the device, is held in rigid and locked position by means of the .securin members 29 engaged by the section out of operative position, the guide member. .25 being provided to swing the outer end of the supporting arm and table 59 downwardly vso that the same will easily clear the frame of the bed when the device is swung into inoperative position, the expansible spring 28 being providedto normally hold one of the sections of the supporting arm in engagement wit-h the guide member 25, thus aiding in supporting the arm. 15 and alsopermitting of easilymoving the supporting arininto or out of operative position. As mentioned heretofore, it should be noted that each section is adjustable relatively to the adjacent section to which it is connected and that one section canflbe locked relatively to the next adjacent'section, the table 59 being adjust able through the medium of the ball and socket joint described heretofore, together with the adjusting mechanism embodied in the thumb nut 50 and rack bar 48 movable to normallyengage the notched plate 47 and retain the ball 56 in locked engagement with the casing 40. Although, for the purpose of describing my device I have'shown and described 'aparticular construction thereof, it will be understood that variousch'anges may be made without departing from the spirit of the in vention and that the scope of the invention is defined in the appended claims.

- Having thus described my invention, I

- claim 1. In a device of the class described, the

combination with brackets for rigid connec tion with a bed, of a track connected to the said brackets, a supporting frame mounted to slide on the said track, an arm extended from the said supporting frame and consisting of a series of connected sections, a spring mounted on the innermost section and connected with the next section to normally retain the outermost section above the horizontal plane of the said bed,

and'a guide member mounted on the said supporting frame to engage one ofthe said sections and swing the free end of the supporting arm downwardly below the horizontal plane of the said bed. v

2. In a device of the class described, the combination with brackets for attachment to a, bed, of a track thereon, a supporting frame mounted to slide on the said track, a supporting arm extended from the said frame and consisting of a series of connected sections, a table mounted on. the outermost section and adapted to normally lie above the horizontal plane of the frame of the'said bed, and means extended from the said supporting frame to engage one of the said sections and move the said table below the horizontal plane of the frame of the said bed when the said supporting arm is swung horizontally on the said supporting frame.

3. In a device of the class described, the combination with brackets for attachment to a bed, of a track thereon, a supporting frame mounted to slide on the said track, a supporting arm extended from the said frame and consisting of a series of connected sections, a table mounted on the outermost section and adapted to normally lie above the horizontal plane of the frame of the said bed, and a guide member extended from the said'supporting frame to engage one of the said sections and move the said table below the horizontal plane of the frame of the said bed when the said supporting arm is swung horizontally on the said supporting frame.

4. In a device of the class described, the combination with brackets for attachment to a bed, of a track thereon, a supporting frame mounted to slide on the said track, a supporting arm extended from the said frame and consisting of a series of connected sections, a table mounted on the outermost section and adapted to normally lie above the horizontal plane of the'frame of the said bed, and a guide member extended from the said supporting frame to engage one of the said sections and move the said table below the horizontalplane of the frame of the said bed when the said supporting arm is swung horizontally on the said supporting frame, and means for adjusting the said guide member relatively to the section engaged by the guide member. I

. 5. In a device of he class described, the combination with brackets for attachment to a bed, of a track connected to the said brackets beneath the frame of the said bed, a guard plate mounted on the said brackets, over the said track, a supporting frame mounted to slide on the said track, a supporting arm extended from the said supporting frame and consisting of a series of connected sections, a table adjustably mounted on the outermost section of the said supporting arm, means for locking one of the sections of the said supporting arm to the said brackets, and means for swinging the said supporting arm into inoperative position beneath the frame of the said bed.

6. In a device of the class described,the

combination with brackets for attachment to a bed, of a track connected to the said brackets beneath the frame of the said bed, a guard plate mounted on the said brackets, overthe said track, a supporting frame mounted to slide on the said tr'ack,a supporting arm extended from the said supporting frame and consisting of a series of connected sections, a table adjustably mounted on the outermost section of the said supporting arm, means for locking one of the sections of the said supporting arm to the said brackets, means for swinging the said supporting arm into inoperative position beneath the frame of the said bed, and pins extended from the said track to be engaged by the said supporting frame and limit the sliding movement of the said frame on the said track.

7. In a device of the class described, the combination with brackets for attachment to a bed, of a track connected to the said brackets beneath the frame of the said bed, a guard plate mounted on the said brackets, over the said track, a supporting frame mounted to slide on the said track, a supporting arm extended from the said supporting frame and consisting of a series of connected sections, a table adjustably mounted on the outermost section of the said supporting arm, means for locking one of the sections of the said supporting arm to the said brackets, means for swinging the said supporting arm into inoperative position beneath the frame of the said bed, pins extended from the said track to be engaged by the said supporting frame and limit the sliding movement of the said frame on the said track, and means for independently adjusting each of the said sections relatively to the next section of the said supporting arm.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

EUGENE C. SNEED.

Witnesses:

F. A, Hos'rsn, BENNET1 L. JONES. 

